TRADE MISSION TO CHINA (Permission)

Mr Seah Peng Chuan asked the Minister for Commerce and Industry whether he will permit a Trade Mission from Singapore to go to China to improve the trade relations between the two countries.

Mr J. M. Jumabhoy: In general the policy of my Ministry is to encourage visits of trade missions either from abroad or from Singapore with a view to improving trade relations and thereby increasing trade. The purpose of trade missions however is generally to expand sales in the countries visited, but since it is the Chinese People's Government's express policy to trade on a basis of bilateral agreements, thus purchasing direct from producing countries rather than through an entrepôt, and since we have no products of our own in which we could expand our sales to China, Government considers that no economic advantage to Singapore will be gained by a trade mission to China at present.